| VARIETY NAME | HARVEST DATE | HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION | GOOD FOR |
Duchess of Oldenberg*
| Late August | Fruit medium to large; color pale yellow covered with splashes and stripes of pinkish red. Excellent flavor with tart overtones. | Eating, Cooking, & Desert |
Paula Red
| Late August | Early apple, hard and crisp with sweet, full flavor. | Eating, Sauce |
Ginger Gold
| Late August | With a sweet and tangy flavor, the Ginger Gold is excellent for eating , but its ability to hold its shape also makes it an excellent cooking apple: perfect for baking. | Eating, Cooking |
Sansa
| Late August | This sweet, early apple is much like a pear in its texture and flavor. Its flesh is green-white, firm but tender, and juicy. | Eating, Cooking |
Jersey Macs
| Late August | Cross between NJ24 and July Red. McIntosh type apple. | Eating, Sauce, Pie |
Dolgo Crab*
| Early September | Siberian crab imported in 1897. Medium-sized (for a crab) fruit is well-flavored and rich in pectin. | Jelly, Cooking |
St. Lawrence*
| Early September | Carmine striped with a deep bloom. Sweet, crisp and juicy, melting flesh. 19th century market apple form the St. Lawrence Valley in Quebec. Not a keeper. | Cooking, Baking |
Wolf River*
| Mid-September | Very large apples, often weighing 1 pound. The shape is often irregular. Pale, dull red skin has patches of yellow and the coarsely textured flesh is tender, soft, juicy and cream colored. The flavor is a bit tart. | Cooking, Sauce, Drying |
McIntosh
| Mid-September | The most crisp, juicy and flavorful McIntosh apples are found in the orchards of Northern New England, where warm, sunny days and frosty autumn nights prevail. | All Purpose |
Cortland
| Mid-September | A great apple for baking, Cortland’s won’t turn brown as quickly as other apples when cut. Perfect for snacking. Crisp, juicy and not too sweet. | All Purpose |
Honey Crisp
| Mid-September | As the name suggests, this is a large, juicy, extra sweet apple and is one of the most sought after at Alyson’s. | Eating, Baking, Sauce |
Fameuse Snow*
| Mid-September | This apple is thought to be the parent of the McIntosh. It is speculated that the origin is French or Canadian. Beautiful in appearance with tender white flesh. | Dessert |
Jonagold
| Late September | A cross between the Jonathan and Golden Delicious. Jonagold is an excellent sweet-tart dessert apple. They have a creamy yellow flesh and are noticeably crisp and juicy. | Eating, Dessert, Pie |
Gala
| Late September | Texture and taste are similar to a Golden Delicious, but Gala is crisper and has a distinct spicy flavor. | Eating, Pie, Sauce, Cider |
Liberty
| Late September | The white flesh is crisp, juicy and flavorful. Great apple for eating . | Eating, Baking |
Maiden’s Blush*
| Late September | Originated in Burlington, New Jersey in 1817 and first named by Samuel Allinson. It is a very lovely apple with a sharp, tangy flavor. Fruit medium to large with smooth, pale waxen yellow skin with a crimson blush. | Eating, Drying, Cooking |
Cox’s Orange Pippen*
| Late September | It was first grown in England 200 years ago. Today, the dry orange apple is a specialty of Alyson’s. A pie made with these will be wonderfully pear scented. | Eating, Sauces, Cider, Pie |
Zabergau Rienette*
| Late September | A russet apple with a dull yellow skin and a potato like shape with a rich, nutty flavor. | Pie |
Black Gilliflower*
| Late September | Black Gilliflower Apple is a large, long, conical, ribbed apple which, when highly colored, becomes almost purplish and has a distinctive unusual flavor, reminiscent of Spitzenburg, rich and sweet, with relatively dry flesh. | Eating |
Blue Pearmain*
| Late September | An older variety of unknown origin thought to be American and dating back to 1800. “The apple in Grandmother’s back yard.” Coarse flesh, mild flavor, very aromatic. | Baking |
Hudson’s Golden Gem*
| Late September | This apple was discovered as a chance seedling at Hudson’s Nurseries in Oregon in 1931. This apple is a “gem in the rough.” Don’t let the fruit with dull, rough skin fool you. Inside, is a sweet, juicy flesh with a delicate almost pear like flavor. It keeps well. | Eating, Dessert, Cider |
Macoun
| Late September | Cross between Jersey Black and McIntosh, introduced in 1923 by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. | Eating, Sauce, Pie |
Ashmead’s Kernel*
| Early October | Grown first in the 1700’s, its skin is russeted and its flesh, crisp and extremely tart. When eaten fresh, it can be a bit like eating a crunchy lemon, but the Ashmead’s flavor mellows out the longer it is kept in storage and they store well. | Eating, Cider |
Ananas Rienette*
| Early October | Russet freckles over gold skin. Crisp and juicy with intense sweet, sharp flavor, developing the pineapple flavor late in the season (its name means pineapple russet). | Eating, Cooking, Juice |
Empire
| Early October | Cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh. White flesh | Eating, Salad, Sauce |
Tolman Sweet*
| Early October | Highly esteemed for baking, stewing and making cider, this is one of the best late sweet apples. Pale yellow skin with russet lines envelops firm, white, sweet fleshed medium to large apples. | Eating, Dessert, Cooking, Baking |
Esopus Spitzenberg*
| Early October | This variety was found in the late 1700’s on a farm near Esopus, a town in New York’s Hudson Valley. It was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson. The flesh is pale yellow, firm, crisp and tender, with an aromatic, spicy character. It ranks among the best dessert apples and is suited for baking. | Dessert, Cooking |
Winesap*
| Early October | Winesap is thought to have come from New Jersey. By 1817 it was recorded as an important cider apple in the state. Beneath its sturdy skin, the yellow flesh is firm and very juicy with a powerful sweet-sour contrast and has a characteristic winey flavor and aroma. | Sauce, Pie, Cider |
Coral
| Early October | Originated in the 1980’s as a limb sport of Gala whose parents are Golden Delicious & Kidd’s Orange Red. Larger, more handsome fruit than Gala. Otherwise similar in taste and season. | Eating |
Fortune
| Early October | A descendent of the Northern Spy, this large, red apple is crisp, juicy and tart. | Eating, Cooking |
Bramley Seeding*
| Early October
| Favorite cooking apple of the English. Makes a great sauce. A large green apple with a sharp acid taste and very high in Vitamin C. A large, vigorous tree that bears heavily. | Cooking, Baking, Cider |
Baldwin*
| Mid-October | Discovered before the 1750’s near Lowell (now Wilmington), MA, this apple was the first true commercial apple in the United States. Baldwin is a squat, medium sized apple, pale green, with deep red to maroon blush. It has a lively sweet-tart flavor. | Cooking, Eating, Cider, Sauce |
Northern Spy*
| Mid-October | First found in New York around the 1800’s. It’s known as one of the best pie apples and the yellow white flesh is juicy and sweet-tart with high vitamin C. | Pie, Eating, Sauce |
Fuji
| Late October | Originated in Japan, this fruit is crisp, sweet, juicy and stores well. Its popularity is well deserved. | Eating |
Mutsu
| Late October | The Japanese bred apple is a favorite of Alyson’s proprietors. The Mutsu (also known as Crispin) is an outstanding all purpose apple. It is crisp and juicy. The rich, sweet flavor is unlike any other apple grown in New England. | All Purpose |
Roxbury Russet*
| Late October | The oldest American-born apple, from a tree in Roxbury, MA, in the late 1600’s. The texture is crisp and hard; some liken the flavor to that of a pear, and others to a coconut. | Cider, Pie |
Lady*
| Early November | Tiny, doll-like lady apples are sweet-flavored and are a beautiful decorative apple. | Eating, Dessert, Sauce |
Black Oxford*
| Early November | A New England original found in the 1700’s in Oxford, Maine. It is a medium sized purple apple, almost black. Its sweet flavor is balanced with a touch of tartness. It keeps exceptionally well and is so hard and crisp it was once referred to as “the rock.” | Eating, Cooking, Cider |
